The dilemma of primary prevention in mental health services: Rationalize the status quo or bite the hand that feeds you

That primary prevention has been ‘inappropriately marginalised’ is seen to be an inevitable outcome of reliance on government support. Policy makers and service providers can never be expected to give prevention a higher priority than direct service. Preventionists have developed two strategies for doing their work. One, based on the logical positivist ideal, seeks specific causal models for specific disorders. This sort of prevention research, while it will always remain less well funded than direct services, tends not to challenge the status quo belief in individual responsibility, or the acceptable methods of mainstream science, and thus will tend to be more acceptable than other forms of prevention research and services. An alternative, based on a social constructivist paradigm engages in social action research through collaboration with a variety of grass roots organizations and people outside the mainstream of power. This latter approach, brings to preventionists ideas from feminists, ethnic minority leaders, neighborhood organizers, and self and mutual help group leaders. It is a sensible way to use the resources available to those professionals interested in social change oriented prevention.     

Reviews

H. Helfrich (ed.), Time and Mind
Hans Eysenck, Genius: The Natural History of Creativity     

Comparison of the performances of a fluent and a nonfluent aphasic on a pantomimic referential task

The pantomimic performances of a typical Broca's (nonfluent) and Wernicke's (fluent) aphasic were compared with each other and with four normal control subjects on a simple task of nonverbal referential communication. Both aphasic subjects demonstrated only about 50% accuracy in their pantomimic communication. Also, measures were obtained of the motoric fluency of the pantomimes of all subjects and comparisons were made between the fluent and nonfluent aphasics. These measures demonstrated distinct differences in the fluency patterns of the pantomimes of the two aphasic subjects similar to the differences in speech fluency which distinguish and characterize these two types of aphasia; that is, the fluent aphasic pantomimed fluently and like the control subjects and the nonfluent aphasic pantomimed nonfluently. The quantitative and qualitative similarities in the fluency patterns of the speech and the pantomimic behaviors of the aphasic subjects are discussed in terms of their implications for a definition of aphasia.     

Soft tissue anatomy of the tongue and floor of the mouth: An ultrasound demonstration

Ultrasound technology has not been used extensively in the study of normal and abnormal oral physiology and speech. Features such as soft tissue detail, real-time motion display, and subject safety make ultrasound ideal for imaging the tongue and the floor of the mouth. This study demonstrates visualization of the muscles of the tongue and floor of the mouth for a normal subject using ultrasound imaging. By employing submandibular transducer placement of real-time sector scanners, tongue anatomy and motion were continuously visualized in sagittal or coronal planes. In addition to the entire tongue surface, much of the intrinsic anatomy was identified including: the genioglossus, geniohyoid, mylohyoid, and digastric muscles; fascial boundaries such as the median fibrous septum, floor intermuscular septum, and paramedian septums; and the hyoid bone. A tongue excised from a human cadaver was scanned using ultrasound and dissected to confirm the anatomy seen in the live tongue. Tongue surface shape and configuration of the intrinsic tissue structures were observed and compared for the phonemes /k/, /u/, and /i/. Anatomical landmarks in the resting and speaking tongue are discussed as well as applications in the fields of speech science and speech pathology.     

The effect of context during word perception in schizophrenic patients

Hospitalized chronic and acute schizophrenics were compared with age- and social-status-matched controls on word perception tests to measure the effect of context on recognition thresholds. In Experiment 1 the method of J. Morton (1964, British Journal of Psychology, 55, 165-180) was adopted to see how related and unrelated contexts influenced word recognition thresholds when both context and stimulus word were presented visually. Experiment 2 was an auditory analog of Experiment 1 and in addition the chronic schizophrenics were selected on the basis of a presence or absence of auditory hallucinations. The influence of context on perceptual thresholds was quite normal in all schizophrenics. However, analysis of the incorrect responses elicited showed that some schizophrenic subjects do produce bizarre or irrelevant responses or perseveration to a greater extent than their controls. These results are explained in terms of automatic and strategic modes of information processing. The automatic processes responsible for the adjustment of perceptual thresholds operate normally in schizophrenics but response production which demands strategic selection and editing of responses is prone to malfunction which results in the observed deviations in the normal use of language.     

Algorithms for processing spatial information

Pairs of stimuli taken from a psychometric measure of spatial aptitude were shown to 9-year-olds, 13-year-olds, and adults. The stimuli in pairs were (a) either identical or mirror images, and (b) presented in orientations that differed by 0-150 degrees. Individuals judged, as rapidly as possible, if the stimuli in a pair would be identical or mirror images if presented at the same orientation. In Experiment 1, in which the stimuli were letter-like characters, at all ages most persons solved the problems using an algorithm in which an individual encodes the stimuli in working memory, mentally rotates one stimulus to the orientation of the other, compares them to determine if they are identical, and responds. In Experiment 2, the stimuli were multielement flags; here, the modal algorithm for both 9- and 13-year-olds differed from the previously described algorithm in that if the comparison process revealed that the stimuli were dissimilar, individuals did not respond immediately, but continued processing until a self-imposed deadline was reached. Among adults, the modal algorithm was the same one used in Experiment 1. Results are discussed in terms of the roles of encoding in contributing to the use of a particular algorithm.     

The impact of family,peers, and educational personnel upon career decision making

This study examined the amount of support, encouragement, and discouragement women received from the important people in their lives when they considered enrolling in a male-traditional vocational course. Data were collected from 470 women enrolled in California vocational training programs. Approximately equal numbers of women in male-dominated (Nontraditionals) and female-dominated programs (Traditionals) completed the self-administered questionnaire. Among those in female-traditional programs, 117 had considered taking a nontraditional program, but never did (Considereds). Data were analyzed for each of these three groups. Results revealed the Nontraditionals consistently received more support and enocuragement than did the Traditionals. However, the only significant support differences between the Nontraditionals and Considereds were in terms of the males in their lives. The Considereds and Traditionals also expected more discouragement than the Nontraditionals indicated they had actually received. Recommendations are made to improve educational quality and to foster equality of educational opportunity.     

Bilingualism and brain functional asymmetry

The task of the neural organization of the native language, acquired by a direct method and of another language, studied at school, performed correspondingly by the left and the right hemispheres, was studied in the bilingual patient after unilateral electroconvulsive therapy used in psychiatry. It was established that in such a bilingual type the right hemisphere is concerned with the formation of deep semantic structures of the native language while the left hemisphere is responsible for the formation of second language deep structures and of surface structures of both languages. The effect of language learning method on cerebral organization of bilingualism is postulated.     

Occupational values,environments, and levels

The Job Attitude Scale was administered to majors and captains and to upper-middle managers and lower-middle managers of industrial organizations. No significant differences in general intrinsic orientation were found between the majors and the upper-middle managers, or between the captains and the lower-middle managers. The majors and the upper-middle managers were significantly more intrinsically oriented than the captains and the lower-middle managers. The results also showed that the military samples were significantly more concerned with advancement, security, status, and family needs-salarywise-than the civilian samples, while the two civilian groups were significantly more concerned with achievement, supervision, and relations with subordinates than the two military groups. The results were discussed in view of job environment and job level.     

Asymptotic reinforced responding as a function of the operant level of the instrumental response

The relationship between operant level (base rate) and asymptotic reinforced instrumental responding was investigated in several contingencies in which licking was contingent upon running, under different FR schedules. For Group I the relationship was examined by selecting rats who naturally differed in their running base rates and for which the licking base rates were equivalent. For Group II the relationship was examined by selecting rats with equivalent running and licking base rates, but whose running rates were eventually made to differ by manipulating wheel-torque requirements. Asymptotic reinforced instrumental responding was found to be linearly related to pre-contingent running base rates, for all FR schedules, and independent of the procedures used to obtain differing running base rates. The results support Premack's contention that asymptotic reinforced instrumental responding is a joint function of the reinforcing response and the operant level of the instrumental response.